In a message dated 99-11-12 17:57:07 EST, JMDia writes:

<< Activsts If juice labelled, why not biotech foods

 By Julie Vorman


 WASHINGTON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Federal rules require labels that tell if
orange juice is made from concentrate, but U.S. consumers are even more
hungry to know if their food contains bioengineered ingredients, two dozen
green and consumer groups said Friday.

 The groups joined a growing push for the Food and Drug Administration to
require labels on snack chips, salad dressings, baked goods and other foods
containing genetically altered ingredients.

 They also want the government to force companies to adopt stricter testing
of the foods and monitor potential health or environmental risks.

 The FDA will launch a series of public hearings next week in Chicago on how
it regulates genetically modified foods.

 ``Labels should be mandatory for all genetically engineered products,
whether or not current testing techniques can detect foreign DNA,'' the
Sierra Club, Consumers Union, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, and 21 others
said in a letter to the FDA.

 ``The label should be straightforward and informational, and not include
value-laden words like 'improved with' or 'enhanced by' genetic
engineering,'' the letter said.

 Labelling is shaping up as one of the most contentious issues the FDA faces
as it reconsiders regulation of GM foods.

 Currently, the FDA does not require labels on food made with transgenic
crops such as soybeans or corn, unless it changes the nutritional content or
introduces an allergen.

 But the agency can force food companies to add label information to satisfy
consumer demands, or to explain key changes in the manufacturing process, the
green groups say.

 For example, orange juice sold in the United States must be labelled ``from
concentrate'' or ``frozen'' if either occurred in the production process. The
FDA also requires food companies to identify if a product has been irradiated
to kill bacteria and extend shelf life.

 U.S. food companies oppose labels as confusing and costly. They contend
consumers can get information from the Internet, brochures at grocery stores
or toll-free telephone numbers.

 Government scientists say the new crop varieties are safe and substantially
the same as conventional ones, but with carefully-selected genes added to
fight pests.

 In Congress, opinion is sharply divided over transgenic crops.

 Republican Representative Nick Smith, the head of a House Science
subcommittee, recently blamed European activists for ``poisoning'' American
consumer confidence in bioengineered foods. Smith, a Michigan farmer, said
the FDA should reassure consumers that the food is safe.

 But more than 40 Democrats and a handful of Republicans this week introduced
a bill calling for labels on any food containing 0.10 percent or more of a
transgenic ingredient.

 American farm groups are also worried. With half of this year's U.S. soybean
crop and one-third of the corn harvest grown from bioengineered varieties,
the reluctance of Europe, Japan and other nations to buy the commodities
could disrupt badly-needed export sales.

 15:43 11-12-99

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